The present invention relates to mental health treatment and, more particularly, to a method of monitoring patients with mental and/or behavioral disorders using their personal mobile devices.
Mental and behavioral disorders take many forms. As a general rule, mental and behavioral disorders are associated with measurable physical behavior-related symptoms. The following is an exemplary not exhaustive list of such disorders or mental/behavior health conditions.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a problem of not being able to focus, being overactive, not being able control behavior, or a combination of these, resulting in hyperactive and impulsive symptoms. The physical behavior-related symptoms that are measurable include, but are not limited to, fidgeting with hands or feet or squirming in seat, leaving their seat when remaining seated is expected, running about or climbing in inappropriate situations, often “on the go,” as if “driven by a motor,” talking excessively, and the like.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can be developed following a traumatic event that threatens your safety or makes you feel helpless. Most people associate PTSD with battle-scarred soldiers—and military combat is the most common cause in men—but any overwhelming life experience can trigger PTSD, especially if the event feels unpredictable and uncontrollable. Though PTSD is often accompanied by devastating functional impairment, PTSD is characterized by the presence of behavioral signs and symptoms related to intense fear, horror, and helplessness.
Mental or Behavioral Diseases (MBD) is a psychiatric disorder that results in a disruption in a person's thinking, feeling, moods, and ability to relate to others. Many MBDs, including but not limited to depression, bipolar disorder, hysteria, dementia, and the like, involve behavioral patterns or anomalies that cause distress or disability that are not developmentally or socially normative. As a result, most MBDs have behavioral representation, usually noticeable and quantifiable. Such behavioral representation differs, even through an individual's various stages of the illness/disorder.
Current commercial mobile devices including, but not limited to, smart phones, tablets, smart-watch, laptops, smart-glasses, have built-in computational components such as sensors, memory, processing units and modes of communication. Also true is the fact that mobile devices have become personal and an integral part of almost everybody's daily life, from kids, adolescents to senior citizens, as they are carried throughout the day. They are used for numerous daily tasks in addition to the countless forms of communication, social networks interaction and storage of personal data. Because of their broad penetration within the general population's every day activities, personal mobile devices have become, in essence, “integral parts of our body.” Moreover, due to their deep integration into users' daily life, personal mobile devices are used “seamlessly,” without the user paying attention to their presence. As a result, an individual's usage can be a reliable indication of their philological and psychiatric status, at almost any given time. When that individual is a patient suffering from mental and/or behavioral disorder, the mobile device can be used to monitor in real time, log and diagnose patients, as well as a source of corrective action.
The computational components of the mobile device can be used to establish a “normal” (or base-line) behavioral profile and log and identify in real-time a deviation from a defined threshold thereof, indicating a change in their mental state that needs attention.
As can be seen, there is a need for a method of monitoring patients with mental and/or behavioral disorders using their personal mobile devices.